By Nancy A. Youssef and Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy Newspapers –
CAIRO — Deploying its air force for the first time in nearly 40 years, the Egyptian military launched an air offensive in the unruly Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, three days after Islamists killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in an attack that threatened both the Egyptian-Israeli border and the political standing of Egypt’s new president.
Hours after the air force reportedly struck Islamic extremists near the border with Israel, the Egyptian government announced that three high-ranking officials had been dismissed for their handling of the Sunday attack, the deadliest against Egyptian soldiers since the 1979 Camp David peace agreement with Israel.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said that he had forced his director of general intelligence services, Murad Muwafi, into retirement and dismissed the governor of North Sinai, Abdel-Wahab Mabrouk, in an apparent bid to assert his authority over the increasingly volatile situation. Since Morsi has no say constitutionally over military matters, the head of the military council that shares power with Morsi, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, fired Hamdy Badeen, the head of Egypt’s military police.
The day’s events suggested the Egyptian military was taking the attack and the threat of domestic extremists seriously after a series of skirmishes over the last year. The air force last launched attacks over the Sinai during the 1973 war with Israel.
At the same time, Morsi sought to reassert his role as president with the firings after a tepid initial response to the attacks and limited say constitutionally over security matters. Morsi did not attend the soldiers’ funerals Monday and made only a 25-minute appearance at the attack site earlier this week, amid security concerns.
Tantawi was the most senior figure at the funeral; Morsi’s prime minister, Hesham Kandil, was attacked by angry spectators as he approached the funeral and did not attend.
The firings “are Morsi’s way of looking authoritative even though he has very limited influence over the Sinai and the security situation more generally,” said Eric Trager, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Washington-based think tank.
Since taking office in June, Morsi has stressed domestic issues over international affairs. He’s vowed to abide by the 1979 peace agreement with Israel and has left the defense and finance ministries in the hands of holdovers from the administration of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, while placing members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, under whose banner he ran for the presidency, in service ministries such as education and youth.
But the attacks exposed the sharp divide between Morsi and the Brotherhood, where he built his political career. The Brotherhood blamed Israelis for the attacks and demanded a re-examination of the 1979 peace treaty, while Morsi sought to strike a more moderate tone.
According to a Reuters report from a correspondent in the Sinai, the air force struck targets in Sheikh Zuwaid, a town six miles from the Gaza Strip. According to state media, the air strikes killed 20 militants.
Israeli officials appeared to welcome the offensive.
“The only one responsible for Sinai is Egypt, and Egypt will do everything in its power to deal with terror. Its success will prevent a bigger attack,” said Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad during an interview with Israel’s army radio. “These extremist organizations can harm the entire Middle East, it is not just against Egypt.”
He said the weekend attack had compelled Egypt to deal with a situation that has been festering for months. “The penny has dropped in Egypt, their level of awareness has been heightened,” he said. “They are moving to action.”
